NEW DELHI: The NDA government has started nudging half-a-dozen Congress-appointed governors to quit in what can escalate political tensions.

Sources in the government said Union home secretary Anil Goswami called up six governors and suggested that they put in their papers. These are M K Narayanan in West Bengal, Sheila Dikshit in Kerala, Margaret Alva in Rajasthan, Kamla Beniwal in Gujarat, K Sankaranarayanan in Maharashtra and Devendra Konwar in Tripura.

The development can lead to a protracted political battle and is sure to end up in court. At least one of the governors is learnt to have turned down the Centre's suggestion saying the government should convey it to her in writing if it wants her to quit before her term runs out.

The NDA government is following the example set by the UPA government which, after coming to power in 2004, got rid of BJP appointees in Raj Bhavans, including Vishnukant Shastri (UP), Kailashpati Mishra (Gujarat), Babu Parmananad (Haryana) and Kedarnath Sahni (Goa).

The decision led to a major showdown between NDA and UPA. So much so that BJP MP B P Singhal went to Supreme Court the same year, challenging the removal. The court, in its May 2010 order, held that governors were not employees of the Union government to warrant removal on the ground of loss of "confidence" in them.

However, the judgment had provided an important exception, which now allows the BJP government to build a file containing the reasons for a governor's removal prior to the council of ministers headed by the PM making such a recommendation to the President. Though the President can return the file, he must sign the recommendation in the event of Cabinet reiterating its decision.

The government seems determined to go the whole hog and does not see the requirement laid down by the SC as an impediment. Sources said the Cabinet may make recommendations seeking the removal of individual governors. In fact, the Centre is learnt to have asked the Maharashtra governor not to go ahead with nominations against vacancies in the state legislative council.

"We have enough reasons to seek their removal," said a senior home ministry functionary who is involved in the exercise.

Just after taking over, NDA had divided governors into three categories -- Congress nominees whose tenure was about to be over, members of the former ruling party who had a major portion of their tenure left, and bureaucrats and retired generals. Of these, the second category was rated as most vulnerable to any purge plan. While most of those on the list indeed belong to the club, there are others too. Beniwal's term is about to be over, while Narayanan served as chief of IB and NSA.

NEW DELHI: The regime change at the Centre is expected to initiate a review of gubernatorial appointments. But the BJP has decided to tread with caution, allowing incumbents nearing the end of their tenure to complete their term and ensuring that the removal of governors is based on "good and compelling reasons" as laid down in a 2010 Supreme Court order.

A look at the remaining tenure of governors appointed by the erstwhile UPA government indicates that at least six incumbents â€” H R Bhardwaj (Karnataka), B L Joshi UP), S C Jamir (Odisha), Margaret Alva (Rajasthan), Jagannath Pahadiya (Haryana) and Devanand Konwar (Tripura) â€” may be allowed to continue as their term expires in a month or two. However the ones who have a longer tenure left may have to immediately make way for NDA appointees. This means that Shiela Dikshit, who was named Kerala governor only in March this year, could be on her way out.

There are other governors with four to eight months of their tenure still remaining. They are Kamla Beniwal (Gujarat), who has had an uneasy relationship with Modi while he was chief minister, J B Patnaik (Assam), Shivraj V Patil (Punjab) and Urmila Singh (Himachal Pradesh). The Modi government will have to weigh whether to let them complete their terms or bring in replacements.

As for former bureaucrats or senior Army officers occupying Raj Bhavans, the list mostly includes incumbents who were either appointed in 2012/2013 or are in the first half of their second terms. While Andhra Pradesh governor E S L Narasimhan and his West Bengal counterpart M K Narayanan have tenure until 2017, J&K governor N N Vohra's term expires even later in 2018. Though NDA may have to carefully weigh Narasimhan's removal, given that bifurcation process of Andhra Pradesh is under way, Narayanan and Vohra, both of whom are in their second terms, have a slim chance of holding on.

Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Wednesday appeared to have dug his heels in against Centreâ€™s request to him to quit as some more of his counterparts in other states kept up their defiance.

Two days after Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami called some of the Governors appointed during UPA governmentâ€™s tenure to resign in the wake of change of government in the Centre, pressure appears to have been mounted to secure their resignation but nothing was in the offing
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While West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan, who is said to be one of those called by Goswami, on Wednesday said he has not resigned â€œyetâ€, Sankaranarayanan said he would consider quitting only if an â€œappropriate decision-making authorityâ€ asks him to do so.

â€œUnion Home Secretary Anil Goswami called me twice during last week (asking to demit office). I didnâ€™t reply to him anythingâ€¦the Governorâ€™s post is a constitutional post. He is a representative of the President, he is appointed by the President. No responsible person has asked me anything in writing to (be) relieved of the post.

â€œThere is no vacuum in the Governorâ€™s post. No position in a democracy is permanent. If an appropriate decision-making authority asks me (to quit), I will definitely think over it,â€ he told a Malayalam TV channel.

82-year-old Sankaranarayanan has been serving as Maharashtra Governor since January 22, 2010. He took oath as Governor of the state for a second time on May 7, 2012 after the President granted him a fresh term of 5 years.